Author: AntonioGuillen
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The Spanish Consulate in Manchester has closed- Now what?
A little bit of bad news this week. The Spanish Consulate in Manchester has been closed down. Apparently, it has been considered redundant as there are Consulates in London and Edinburgh. This means that if you live in one of the following regions (Cleveland, Cumbria, Durham, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyshire, North Yokshire, Northumberland, Tyne…
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Red wine, property prices and cultural differences- A chat with Maria Vea
From left to right: Antonio Guillen, Alejandro Yufera, Maria Vea and James Haddleton at the Mint Hotel in Leeds This week I have the pleasure of interviewing a colleague from Spain, Maria Vea, who will give an insight into the legal and daily situation in Spain. Antonio: Maria, tell me a little bit about…
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No way out?
Recently and as a result of the sum of several factors such as the unstoppable fall of the sales of properties and an increase in mortgage defaults, Spanish banks have accumulated more than 150,000 million euros in property assets. Assets which, incidentally, the banks do not want but the truth is that since October 2008,…
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Mistakes made when granting a Spanish will- Part IV
This is my last article on the topic that I started some weeks ago. I could write about wills for weeks as this is a subject that I enjoy quite a lot but I am aware that this would make my blog quite boring and repetitive. I have therefore decided to conclude with an…
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Mistakes made when making a Spanish Will- Part III
This week I will talk about a mistake that is made after making a Spanish Will. I am talking about marriage. Obviously, I am not saying that marriage is a mistake (although some of my divorced friends may have something to say in this respect…). It is what happens with the marriage what worries me.…
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Mistakes made when granting a Spanish will – Part II
About two weeks ago I started a series of posts on the most common mistakes made when granting a Spanish Will. Now is time for another post. In my previous post I made mention to the tax aspects of leaving the property or a share on a property to the surviving spouse. This time I…
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Mistakes made when granting a Spanish will- Part I
As some of the readers of this blog are aware, I am a Spanish lawyer based in Manchester, UK. Most of my clients are British with interests or assets in Spain. I think I have lost track of the number of Spanish wills I have drafted in the last 7 years since I came to…
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Spanish Limited companies- New advantages
On the 3rd December 2010, the Spanish Parliament issued a new law that speeds and reduces the costs of setting up a Spanish Limited company. The aforementioned law was a response to the current climate in which the raising unemployment rate has forced many Spaniards to become self-employed. Up until December 2010 the costs for…
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Charities, the EU and Spain- Tax differences
On the 10th February, the European Court of Justice issued an important Judgement in connection to the tax treatment to Charities within the UE in respect of Inheritance Tax. The Judgement is a response to the current variety of regulations within the Union in connection to Inheritance taxes and more particularly to Charities. In this…
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About the “international wills” and other confusing type of wills
The World is getting smaller. There is no doubt about it. In this era of globalisation, we have seen British acquiring properties in other countries such as Spain, France, Italy, you name it. The British affair with sunny places is well known. Programs such as “A place in the sun” are a good example of…